Hollinger: The Forgotten Portraitist I Found in the Trash, Miami Art Reviews


Hollinger Portrait Painting, Unknown Woman in Red Coat, Vintage 1960s South Florida Art, Female Artist Forgotten, Rescued Oil Painting, Miami Art Reviews
Oil portrait of an unknown woman by Hollinger,
rescued from a discarded pile in South Florida.
Her quiet gaze reminded me of my grandmother, 
a traveler, an artist, a survivor. Miami Art Reviews 


 Hollinger — The Forgotten Portraitist of South Florida

Rescued from the Trash, Preserved with Love


One day, I found a pile of old paintings on the street, stacked next to a trash bin like broken furniture. Forgotten. Abandoned. But when I looked closer, I knew, this was no amateur’s work.


These were the paintings of Hollinger, a portrait artist from South Florida, probably active in the 1950s or 1960s.

I only know the last name, Hollinger — and I know she was very, very good.


Her work moved me instantly.


One of the pieces is a delicate chalk drawing of an elderly man, most likely her father. It’s raw, thoughtful, quiet, the kind of piece only someone who loved her subject could draw.


But it’s another painting that lives with me in a different way:

A large oil portrait of a woman in a red coat and matching hat. She’s seated with a glove and, almost surreal,  a pig, softly tucked into the composition like a hidden symbol. The woman’s expression is calm, but her gaze is piercing. She reminds me of my grandmother. In fact, the resemblance is so strong, I placed the painting where I see it every day,  right across from me in the quietest corner of the house. When I sit, she looks back at me.

I don’t know who Hollinger was.

There is no trace of her online, no exhibitions, no records, no history.

But someone who paints like that shouldn’t vanish into silence.

So I’m writing this as a kind of rescue.

If you know anything about Hollinger, the portrait artist, maybe you’re a relative, a student, or you remember her from South Florida, please reach out.


She deserves more than the garbage.

She deserves memory.

She deserves to be part of our story.


And even if no one ever finds her, she will still live on through the paintings I saved, and the love I feel every time I look at them.


 Written by Ana Bikic, Miami Art Reviews

📸 All images are from the rescued works of Hollinger and the author’s personal archive

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Hollinger Portrait Artist of South Florida – Forgotten American Woman Painter Rescued from the Trash, 1960s Vintage Oil Art, Miami Art Reviews 


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My grandmother — an artist, traveler, and independent spirit. Her photo has lived with me for years, and the resemblance to Hollinger’s painted woman is uncanny.

Vintage Photo 1950s, Woman Artist, Ana Bikic’s Grandmother, Florida Artistic Heritage, Female Legacy and Art Inspiration



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